Yellow-billed Cuckoo

The Yellow-billed Cuckoo has become endangered in the Southwestern United States. It still has a large world-wide population of about 9 million.

In layman terms, it is hard to classify. It looks similar to doves, except it is seldom on the ground like a dove. It is more technically related to Roadrunners, but acts nothing like a roadrunner. 

The American Birding Association here in Arizona does field annual field counts on the Yellow-billed Cuckoo because of its declining population.

It is a summer migrant, seldom reported before May or after September. Some good places to look are along the Santa Cruz River near Tubac and Tumacacori, along the San Pedro River near Hereford,  Pena Blanca Lake near the US/Mexico boarder, Arivaca Cienegas, Patagonia Creek, and Empire Gulch. As a general rule, in wet, riparian areas south of Tucson not far from the border.

Here are a few photos:

Yellow-billed Cuckoo at Arivaca Cienegas 

Yellow-billed Cuckoo at Empire Gulch

Ground Birds: Wild Turkey

Once difficult to find, Wild Turkeys have become common throughout the United States. This increasing population has found its way into suburban neighborhoods -- even here at The Azure Gate Bed and Breakfast.

Most of the Madrean Sky Island mountains (Catalinas, Santa Ritas, Huachucas, Chiricahuas) have abundant populations, where they can be more easily found.

As a side note, Benjamin Franklin wanted the symbol of America to be the Wild Turkey, not the Bald Eagle. Ultimately, the decision went to the (much smarter) Bald Eagle. That decision has lead to the use of the word "turkey" as a derogatory term meaning "losers" or ......  

The Wild Turkey does remain the symbol of Thanksgiving though.

Here are some photos:

Wild Turkey Male

Wild Turkey Chick

Wild Turkey Female

Wild Turkey Posing for a Photo

Wild Turkey in Grasses

Wild Turkeys

Wild Turkeys at The Azure Gate

Wild Turkey Snow

Ground Birds: Helmeted Guineafowl

On to a rare bird in Arizona, the Helmeted Guineafowl. It is native to Africa, but has been introduced into farms in Europe, Brazil, Australia, and the US.

Here is an interesting summary of the Helmeted Guineafowl's behavior (from Wikipedia):

This is a gregarious species, forming flocks outside the breeding season typically of about 25 birds that also roost communally. Guineafowl are particularly well-suited to consuming massive quantities of ticks, which might otherwise spread lyme disease. These birds are terrestrial, and prone to run rather than fly when alarmed. Like most gallinaceous birds, they have a short-lived explosive flight and rely on gliding to cover extended distances. Helmeted guineafowl can walk 10 km and more in a day, and are great runners. They make loud harsh calls when disturbed. Their diet consists of a variety of animal and plant food; seeds, fruits, greens, snails, spiders, worms and insects, frogs, lizards, small snakes and small mammals. Guineafowl are equipped with strong claws and scratch in loose soil for food much like domestic chickens, although they seldom uproot growing plants in so doing. As with all of the Numididae, they have no spurs. They may live for up to 12 years in the wild.

Males often show aggression towards each other, and will partake in aggressive fighting which may leave other males bloodied and otherwise injured. They will attempt to make themselves look more fearsome by raising their wings upwards from their sides and bristling their feathers across the length of the body, and they may also rush towards their opponent with a gaping beak. The nest is a well-hidden, generally unlined scrape and a clutch is normally some 6 to 12 eggs which the female incubates for 26 to 28 days. Nests containing larger numbers of eggs are generally believed to be the result of more than one hen using the nest; eggs are large and an incubating bird could not realistically cover significantly more than a normal clutch.

Domestic birds at least, are notable for producing very thick-shelled eggs that are reduced to fragments as the young birds (known as keets among bird breeders) hatch, rather than leaving two large sections and small chips where the keet has removed the end of the egg. It has been noted that domesticated guineafowl hens are not the best of mothers, and will often abandon their nests. The keets are cryptically coloured and rapid wing growth enables them to flutter onto low branches barely a week after hatching.

Here are a few photos:

Ground Birds: Roadrunner

The Greater Roadrunner is seen on a regular basis here at The Azure Gate. Always interesting to watch as it searches for lizards or other food.

Here are a few of my favorite Roadrunner photos:

Ground Birds: Grouse and Pheasants

Here are a few of the decent grouse photos I've taken over the years:

Dusky Grouse

Franklin's Spruce Grouse

Ring-necked Pheasant

Spruce Grouse

Ground Birds: Quail

We are working our way through the Ground Birds and coming to the Quail.

Gambel's Quail Male

Gambel's Quail: Female

Montezuma's Quail: Female

Montezuma's Quail: Male

Scaled Quail: Female

Doves: Part VI

Lastly, the White-winged Dove:

As with the Mourning Dove, the White-winged Doves will nest anyway too. This was in our carport:

Here a White-winged Dove eating the fruit of a Saguaro Cactus: